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Metropolitan Council presents 80% draft of Comprehensive Climate Action Plan; public comment set for Sept. 25–Oct. 17
Summary
Council staff presented an 80% draft of a comprehensive regional climate action plan funded by an EPA grant, discussed greenhouse gas inventory and proposed reduction measures, and outlined an engagement and public-comment schedule ahead of a December delivery to EPA.
Metropolitan Council staff on Aug. 27 presented an 80% draft of a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) developed with an EPA grant awarded in 2023 and scheduled for delivery to the EPA at the end of 2025.
Peter Wilfert, one of the presenters, told the council the plan covers an 11-county greenhouse gas inventory (including two Minnesota counties and two Wisconsin counties in the MSA definition) and projects emissions through 2050. "We will deliver our major action plan to the EPA at the end of this calendar year," Wilfert said.
Why it matters: The CCAP translates regional greenhouse gas accounting, reduction targets and community engagement into a set of reduction measures, a benefits analysis, an assessment of implementing authority and a workforce analysis required under the EPA grant. The council intends to produce tools and technical assistance (a greenhouse gas emissions reduction tool and a climate action toolkit) to help cities, counties and townships meet new state comprehensive-plan climate requirements.
Key details from the presentation:
- Inventory and scope: Staff presented a greenhouse gas inventory through 2022 and projections to 2050; staff said transportation is the largest sector in the region and electricity has shown marked decarbonization since 2005. The comprehensive plan uses the state's statutory targets for 2030 and 2050 when setting regional targets.
- Engagement: Staff described three engagement streams: a steering committee of 13 city, county and tribal staff; a "community climate collaboration" that worked with eight organizations to recruit and convene community workshops and interviews (about 100 workshop participants and about 190 interview respondents); and a workforce work group reviewing the DEED-required workforce analysis.
- Reduction measures and tools: Staff outlined a set of greenhouse gas reduction measures across transportation, electricity, building energy, industrial processes, waste, agriculture and natural systems. Staff said the plan will be accompanied by a greenhouse gas emissions reduction tool (to scale regional data to city/town/county level) and a climate action toolkit planned for rollout in 2026.
- Timeline and public comment: Staff said the item presented is an 80% draft; a 90% draft will be returned to council in September and the public-comment period will run Sept. 25–Oct. 17. Staff plan to present a final draft for council authorization to submit to the EPA on Nov. 12; the CCAP is due to EPA by Dec. 1.
Questions and council comments at the meeting ranged from requests to highlight renewable energy in the measures, to clarifications that the workforce analysis is under development with the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), to suggestions to add interim decadal goals (e.g., 2035, 2040) to clarify milestones toward 2050.
What staff said they will do next: update the draft to reflect committee and stakeholder feedback, produce the local-scale emissions-reduction tool, continue workforce analysis with DEED and host engagement during the public comment period.
Speakers who presented and participated in the discussion included council staff Peter Wilfert and Jillian Greenberg and multiple council members who asked questions and offered feedback.
